The irony of existentialism, the parody of being and the inherent contradictions of post-modernism, all so delicately conveyed by the blocky, pixelated arcade action have all been painstakingly recreated in this bottles contents. This imperial stout is brewed with copious amounts of speciality malts, jasmine and cranberries. After fermentation we then dry-hop this killer stout with a bucketload of our favourite hops before carefully ageing the beer on French toasted oak chips. It is all about moderation. Everything in moderation, including moderation itself. What logically follows is that you must, from time, have excess. This beer is for those times.

Smell: Sweet, cloying, caramel-like... Like a weaker smelling Tactical Nuclear Penguin that I had earlier in the night

Taste: Good god, imagine a truck of sugar crashing directly into your mouth and spilling all of it's cargo therein. This is the most unpleasant beer I have had in a long time. Whatever else is happening here is completely overshadowed by pure malt. It's as if I'm drinking diluted malt concentrate mixed with maple syrup. Painful, simply and utterly painful. The alcohol was there, but it was somewhat co-opted by the sheer sticky presence of the maltose.

Mouthfeel: I had to struggle it down.

Overall: I don't even want to think about this beer again. I know it's rated fairly highly on BA, but it just was so not for me. (965 characters)

If the saying is true, "Everything in moderation, even moderation", then Brewdog brewers are taking some artistic, boozy and roasty liberties, pushing this massive stout well beyond 18% alcohol.

Popping the cap and tilting the bottle, the dark brown, tawny elixir might as well crawl into the glass all by itself. Its oily appearance nestles into the snifter with the daintiest swirl of espresso-like creme for its crown. Lavish aromas flood the olfactories with coffee, dark chocolate, wonderfully burnt sugar, sherry wine, port and madeira. Its strong vinous presence sneaks in a robust and fortified wine flavor just underneath the decadent sweetness of black-strap molasses, brownie batter and buckwheat honey.

The low-lying carbonation allows the toasted sweetness to seep deep into the tastebuds, pulling with its the flavor and texture of fudge, bittersweet chocolate, espresso, heavy cream and spun toffee. But when the sweetness reaches a crescendo, in trots the strong booze and tangy fruit balance. Red grape, licorice, red berry, plum, prune and blackberry- all seeming in the booze-soaked variety- slice through the malt for a surprisingly well balanced taste.

Long and savory in its finish, the stout doesn't exit the palate quickly, rather preferring to linger like fine port or cognac. Its thick, cloying texture and smoldering alcohol warmth evoke a patient session of low volume to allow the savory umami, teryaki-like, salty, meaty oxidation to be explored to its fullest. (1,495 characters)

A - Poured a very dark brown color with a brown head that leaves lacing behind

S - Is of roasted malt that gives off coffee scents dark fruit some oak and a lot of alcohol

T - Starts off sweet with roated malt then the dark fruit flavors come out with lots of alcohol

M - This beer has a full body with medium carbonation to it

D - Even though this is the first beer of the day for me the first sip made me gag and throw up some after washing out my mouth to get a review its not any easier to drink this is a boozy mess and the price of the bottle is going to make me finish this garbage (647 characters)

Tokyo* pours a dark cola brown color, almost black but not quite, fairly opaque but also surprisingly clear from the top down once the head recedes. Shockingly, there is a head, almost a finger high, tan in color, moderate retention, easily resummoned with a quick swirl of the glass, light lace. The aroma is of sharp acetone nail polish, chewy oak and violent alcohol, extremely harsh and quite unpleasant. The flavors are very similar, lots of chewy oak, a bit of vanilla comes out before the nail polish flavors really dominate the tongue and to make matters worse, the punishing alcohol takes control of what is already an astringent and toxic brew and just obliterates the palate with an out of control harshness. The body is thin, bubbly and over-carbonated, abrasive on the tongue but it does have a moderately smooth finish but the zesty carbonation can be felt on the tongue for quite some time.

Verdict: Just awful. Simply awful stout from BrewDog. I appreciate the creativity and lack of convention from this brewery and love trying their stuff, but to say this was successful is impossible. A drain pour. (1,247 characters)

As soon as I popped the cap I could smell the booze on this. I'm actually a little intimidated by this guy. It looks pretty nice, with a dark body and a thin tan head that disappears quickly into thin lacing. Not bad for an 18+! Smells boozy! That isn't shocking though. I am pleased with how the cranberry aroma pulls through with a bit of oakiness and toastiness! However, it's all still masked by a gigantic wall of alcohol that BrewDog has reputed themselves with. I'm less than impressed with the flavor, this just burns. My taste buds have been burned and I can't taste anything except alcohol heat! Behind it I can get a bit of oak with a slight touch of dark fruit but damn! This isn't even novel for me. The mouthfeel is nothing more than aggressive alcohol burning. Not very pleasant. I'll finish this, but damn, it's going to be a chore. (848 characters)

A knowledgeable American sommelier I met at a pub here in Belgium, described BrewDog as "great marketing, lack of talent". After drinking this brew, I think I have a reasonably good idea what he's talking about.

This beer is just wrong on so many levels. The completely overpowering sweetness from plums and other dark fruits and raw alcohol you get from the nose are quite frankly sickening. The taste is equally bad, adding a stale dampness remeniscent of rain on hot concrete, potpourri and grandmum's living room with all the windows closed.

For me, this beer really doesn't have any redeeming qualities whatsoever. It doesn't even LOOK that appealing for an Imperial, having quite a light and tame head and not even being very dark, probably due to the amount of alcohol running through it, making it look quite insepid for its genre.

There are certain things I want from a stout, and I guess BrewDog Tokyo* has nothing of the sort. No beautiful roasted coffee, no bitterness, no texture, no deep dark brown head and pitch black body, ... as much as I would have liked to adore this beer as an almost unconditional stout fan, I absolutely hated this.

The only reason I didn't pour it down the sink, is because I coughed up €10 for the damn thing. (1,258 characters)

Batch ..3Best by 16/02/20Oak aged stout brewed with cranberries and jasmineIn a snifter the beer was a very dark brown, almost black color, with a miniscule tan head.Strong aroma of alcohol, also tart fruit and chocolate.More of a chocolate taste than anything else. Could appreciate the cranberries, but couldn't find the jasmine. Alcohol noticeable.A bit on the hot side, but not as much as I guessed from the aroma.Interesting beer. (442 characters)

poured into brandy snifter. Minimal head to be expected from a 18.2% abv. No lace in the traditional sense. Lots of tiny bubbles that cling to the glass. A bunch of dots. Strange. Interesting.Aroma is wonderful. Like a good brandy only better if you like complexity. Lots of flavors especially chocolate build expectations of things to come.Liked the taste a lot. A very good sipping beer. Don't want it to end.Mouthfeel? No problem here. Extends the overall experience nicely. No cloy. Nothing to detract - except for the quick buzz.Given its limited release, I only hope I can snag a few more of these if I get the opportunity. (681 characters)

This is a really good beer considering the really high ABV, and is hard to accurately rate due to that fact in my opinion. If you like high ABV IPA's/ Stouts, then you should try this. If you like pilsners/wheat beers/light beers, then I'd say you probably won't like this. Its boozy, complex,and in my opinion worth the $12.00 USD price tag for a 12 oz bottle ( only once I might add). (386 characters)

Note: This is a review of "Tokio" with a red asterisk--the 18.2% ABV version--as opposed to bottles with the "Tokyo" spelling, with a white asterisk, or sans asterisk altogether. The beer--subtitled an "intergalactic fantastic oak aged stout"--is noted on the label as having been brewed with cranberries and jasmine, then dry hopped and aged on French toasted oak chips.

Tokio begins with the kind of aroma that lets you know your tastebuds are in for an ass-kicking (as if the 18.2% ABV wasn't enough): huge sugary malts, bursting with crystallized sugars, fig and port aromas, oranges, brown sugars, molasses, candied dried fruits, cognac, and anise, and rosewater hops which add a heaping dose of pine and grapefruit.

On the tongue, the beer begins with a sugary-sweet lure of brown sugars, raisins, and figs, then takes a sudden plunge into the bitter and dark, bringing in paralyzing doses of, in order, black malt, espresso, tobacco, ash, whiskey, cognac, and vodka, as the brew lingers on the tongue, the flavors change, and the sugars die off to reveal the massive alcohol content. I'm not exactly sure where the cranberries and jasmine come into play, as my tongue is overwhelmed by these darker, more alcoholic flavors (perhaps they help temper them?), but the presence of the oak chip aging definitely adds overtones of wood and char. Even the hops, coming in at 90 IBUs, take a backseat to the malts, and are mostly noticeable late in the mouthful, especially in the long-lingering aftertaste, where they are accompanied by chocolate and black malts, with hints of whiskey. Mouthfeel is an alcoholic medium-heavy, and carbonation is medium-light.

Overall, I'm impressed by the craft of this beer, as it's difficult to imagine how so many flavors have been crammed into one bottle. The mix feels supersaturated, the ingredients fighting for attention, but simultaneously working in harmony. This is, however, a sipping beer, and definitely not for the faint of heart. The sheer levels of alcohol and flavor in this would, I suspect, make a guzzler quite sick, and I doubt the casual beer drinker would appreciate (much less like) what they're tasting. But if you're on the lookout for something impressive, daring, and cutting-edge, this is certainly a good place to start. (2,290 characters)